Congratulations to the following individuals, and the organisations they represent!

Their initiatives have made an impact on the communities they serve and they exemplify the qualities and values that the FASS Student Leadership Award (FSLA) programme aims to instill in all our student leaders.

INDIVIDUAL AWARDS

GROUP AWARDS

Congratulations to the following individuals, and the organisations they represent!

Their initiatives have made an impact on the communities they serve and they exemplify the qualities and values that the FASS Student Leadership Award (FSLA) programme aims to instill in all our student leaders.

INDIVIDUAL AWARDS

GROUP AWARDS

Could you tell us about your work with NUS Aerial Sports (e.g. any significant initiatives you led) and your motivations for initiating it?

NUS Aerial Sports (NAS) was the brainchild of my graduating seniors and I was lucky enough to be able to serve in the Presidential Cell, in its pioneering years! NAS is the first aerial and pole sports CCA in Singapore’s tertiary education scene. Because the nature of aerial and pole sports were also different from other sport CCAs, it was very challenging for us to formulate the Club’s activities and identity. To date, we’ve managed to make aerial and pole sports more accessible and affordable to all NUS students and address certain negative stereotypes that people might have towards the sport. Personally, I love pole sport and pole dance, it’s a hobby that empowers me a lot, so I really wanted to share my appreciation towards this sport with more people around me, and hopefully, this sport can speak to them as much as it speaks to me! 

What was the impact of your project?

Thus far, more than hundreds of NUS students managed to try out and continue their pole and aerial sports journey through our subsidised courses and trial classes! I think NAS really laid the groundwork of normalising pole and aerial sports as a form of sport and art, rather than the typical misconception of pole and aerial sports being risqué, expensive, and difficult. We have partnered with many key players in the local pole and aerial sports, which also helped to cement our presence in the community and demonstrate the increasing interest university students have towards pole and aerial sports! Other universities have also reached out to us to learn more about the processes of setting up such a CCA!

What challenges did you face while working on it and what motivated you to keep going?

For sure, it was difficult to navigate through leading a brand new CCA that has virtually no other replicas in Singapore for us to take reference from. There was a lot of trial and error, many worries about the longevity of the CCA, and a lot of apologising too, as we make mistakes here and there. There were certainly low points (cried a little too), but I think that also comes with me being very emotionally attached to the CCA. What really kept me going was also knowing that I had my club members to take care of, and I didn’t want to let them down since they trusted me enough with this role right from the start and relied on me.

Are there any other projects you have worked/are working on?

While I was the President of NUS Aerial Sports, I also held the Presidential position for FASS Club and NUS Global Studies Club! Each of my team and I carried out many projects together throughout the year and I’m really very grateful for the opportunity to work alongside many hardworking and passionate friends for these! For the current AY, I’ll continue as the President of NUS Aerial Sports, so if you’re interested in that, I’ll be more than happy to share more and welcome you into the community ~

What are your fondest memories of NUS?

If I’m allowed to be cheesy… my fondest memories will definitely be the times spent with my FASS Club kids! Beyond pouring our blood, sweat and tears into different projects throughout our term (which I adore too, okay, I love working on student life projects), it’s also the little mundane things like ordering McDonalds into UTown at 5AM to accompany our friend for his suhoor, looking for six pairs of shark slippers all around FASS at midnight because the delivery man misplaced our order -- it’s these things that we did together that are all the more close to my heart! 

What have you been up to since you stepped down as President?

I went on an exchange in Paris in the semester after I stepped down! I loved my time there… Europe just you wait… I’ll be back!! I’m currently interning at Project X, a non-profit organisation that works with sex workers in Singapore. I’m learning so many things at this internship, I actually love it so much even though I wasn’t even interested in the non-profit industry until very recently (I was pretty fixated on journalism previously), but the work I do now is really so fulfilling and meaningful for me that I can’t wait to explore more in this industry in the near future, both in my studies and at work!

Babies born with Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB) are often referred to as “butterfly babies”, because they have skin as fragile – and tear as easily – as the wings of butterflies. Children with the condition may not receive hugs and embraces, as even loving touches may cause blisters and tears on their skin, wounds that may correspondingly lead to decreased mobility, disfigurement, and disability. As of 2018, there exists no standard treatment nor cure for the disease.

The lack of awareness of and support for patients of this rare genetic disorder was what prompted Dr Ritu Jain, Valedictorian of the FASS Class of 2017 and FASS Student Leadership Award (FSLA) Winner, to start DEBRA Singapore, a patient-led support group for children and families suffering from EB.

The FSLA acknowledges Dr Jain’s dedication to the cause: as the President of DEBRA Singapore, she has worked with pharmaceutical companies to bring clinical trials to Singapore, negotiated price cuts for essential dressings, participate in conferences, and organised talks, workshops, and activities in partnership with KK Hospital, National Skin Centre, and the National University Hospital. Please enjoy our interview with her below!

Could you tell us about your work on DEBRA Singapore and your motivations for initiating it?
DEBRA Singapore, a patient support and advocacy group that supports wound-care and other needs of patients and families with the rare genetic disorder, Epidermolysis Bullosa. I started it for two main reasons: 1) a family member suffering this condition and more importantly, 2) awareness of the need for a patient support group in the absence of support from the government, insurance policies, and/or any other agency.

What was the impact of your project?
Currently, we support all EB related needs of all EB patients as well as of a few in the Asian region (e.g., in Cambodia, India, Pakistan, etc.).

What challenges did you face while working on it and what motivated you to keep going?
The lack of awareness among people, the cultural stigma of having a ‘disease’, and the lack of funds for the exorbitant products that patients need every single day. The suffering of patients and the struggle of families in meeting the daily needs of the children was a motivation that kept me going. Of course, the support of the Debra team and of Debra International, the doctors at KKH and NUH and the researchers at the IMB Lab at A*Star made an immense difference.

Are there any recent developments or updates to your project? Are there any other projects you have worked/are working on?

Debra Singapore now participates in a global Butterfly Run that has enabled us to create awareness locally and internationally. We were also featured in a Channel News Asia documentary called the Butterfly Children (https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/video-on-demand/butterfly-children/butterfly-children-9937670) and this has helped bring awareness of the condition to a large extent.

I was also able to co-organise the first EB conference in India in January 2018 and am organizing another in Singapore, in conjunction with the Regional Scientific Meeting of Pediatric Dermatology on April 27th, 2018. As part of our commitment to facilitating better delivery of healthcare for EB patients, I am working with doctors in Indonesia to enable the visit of a multi-disciplinary team of doctors and healthcare workers to Bandung, Indonesia in the first week of May. I am also working with EB patients and families in Pakistan through sharing information and creating a network of healthcare professionals to facilitate access to better EB care.

What are your fondest memories of NUS?

I’ll always cherish the various faculty events such as the FASSforward, graduate representative get-togethers, and the various seminars. However, some of my fondest memories are of hanging out at the Deck, drinking endless cups of coffee, sharing ideas and arguments with faculty members and other graduate students, and moaning about the agony of graduate experiences with co-suffering peers!

What have you been up to since you got your PhD?

Other than teaching full time, managing my family, running Debra Singapore, working on the board of Debra International and Rare Diseases International? Oh, just drinking endless cups of coffee and having endless conversations with the wonderful students at NTU and ex-students and colleagues at NUS ♥

When it was announced in 2016 that Rochor Centre was to be demolished to make way for the construction of the North-South Expressway, the team behind Project Scribe: Remembering Rochor quickly sprang into action. They had two main goals: one, to equip secondary school students with basic research skills in the humanities; and two, to document the history of Rochor Centre, one of the first few estates in Singapore that integrated residential and commercial usage under one roof, so as to ensure that the legacy of the four rainbow-colored blocks remains in a society that prides itself on change and transformation.

Over four months, Project Scribe matched thirteen teams of secondary school students with undergraduate mentors from NUS, who guided the former on the basics of first-hand research and imparted the necessary know-how to interview the residents and tenants of Rochor Centre. As the 81 secondary school students immersed themselves in research and archival work, they grew to realise that history is happening right now beneath their feet, in the process developing a greater appreciation of the discipline beyond textbook knowledge. Project Scribe concluded its run four months later with short presentations from the respective teams, which further impressed on the students the power of oral history.

We speak to the Project Directors, Lim Natasha Ann (N) and Lim Jia Yi (J), then-President of History Society (HISSOC), Timotty Tay Jun Jie (T), and Vice-President, Low Hui Min Clarissa (C) to find out more about Project Scribe. The four were quick to highlight that Project Scribe would not have been possible without the help of volunteer mentors and students across NUS, whose extensive contributions ensured the success of the project.

Enjoy the interview below!

1) Could you tell us about Project Scribe: Remembering Rochor and your motivations for initiating it?

N: Project Scribe is an oral history project that NUS HISSOC undertook after its first run. As many of us would like to develop a greater interest in History among youth, this project aimed to expose students to different methods of obtaining sources to provide alternative voices to Singapore’s history.

J: NUS History Society were not the pioneers in Project Scribe. We first heard about this project from two of our seniors, Nadjad and Darrell, who ran this programme in the University Scholars Programme (USP) and were looking for people to sustain this endeavour.

C: HISSOC then assembled a team together and thought about using this programme to capture the memories of the residents in Rochor Centre, which was about to be demolished at that time in 2016.

2) What was the impact of your project?

N: Our project reached out to over 50 students from seven different schools, and we produced a booklet for some residents of Rochor Centre to capture their fond memories of the neighbourhood.

T: To equip the secondary school students who would be unfamiliar with oral history methods, we also ran a one-day workshop that educated them on the historical method and how historians utilize primary sources to craft narratives and to learn to use the recording devices that we have loaned from the Faculty.

J: We also had NUS student volunteers who mentored them in writing these narratives over a period of three months. Some of our peers were not even History majors, let alone part of HISSOC officially, and we are glad to have met them along the way. Also, our juniors from the Society also took the programme up for the 2017 iteration.

3) What challenges did your group face while working on it and what motivated you to keep going?

N: We faced some difficulties obtaining funds, and had to seek support from the National Heritage Board (NHB) under the SG50 project applications.

T: We also sought funding from the Lifelong Learning Institute. We also found it difficult to work with a Residents' Committee that was technically non-existent, as residents were already beginning to move out of the premises when we began the project.

C: We came across quite a lot of obstacles along the way. Funding was definitely a huge issue. We learnt that there were numerous criteria to meet if we even want to apply for any sort of funding from FASS, or even do any sort of event in FASS.

4) Are there any recent developments or updates to your project?

C: HISSOC carried out a second round of Project Scribe in 2017, focusing on the memories of residents living in Tiong Bahru.

5) Are there any other projects you have worked/are working on?

T: Yeah, the project of growing up after graduating I guess.

6) What are your fondest memories of NUS?

N: The Yong Tau Foo stall in FASS. Definitely.

T: It was a pretty transient but carefree time in hindsight. I vaguely remember the strangest of conversations from the most random of people at various points of my four years there. My memory is failing.

7) What have you all been up to since you graduated from NUS?

T: Three of us are busy molding the future of our nation, so we are still hopeful about impacting youth in the future. Jia Yi is continuing her journey in higher education in Waseda, Japan, busy with her thesis.

Could you tell us about your work on Kodrah Kristang and your motivations for initiating it?

I lead the first-ever structured classes for the critically endangered Kristang language, which is the language of the Portuguese-Eurasian community and the language of my maternal grandparents. Classes are free and open to anyone.

What was the impact of your project?

The project has contributed in large part to a significant reversal in Kristang's decline, with over 500 people joining our classes since we got started in March 2016, and greatly raising the profile of the language, once recognised in Singapore but forgotten since the 1930s. Kodrah and I have been featured by the BBC, Agence-France Presse, Channel NewsAsia, 938LIVE, The Straits Times, OurSG, Revista Macau,Observatório da Língua Portuguesa, TODAY, The New Eurasian, Six-Six, and The Independent, reaching over 69 million people; I have also spoken about Kristang at conferences at the University of Tampere, the University of Hong Kong, University of Hawaii at Manoa, the University of Macau and the National University of Singapore's College of Alice & Peter Tan, and as an invited speaker at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the University of Malaya, Eunoia Junior College, Eunos Primary School, Anglo-Chinese School (Independent), the National Library's Friends of the Museum project, and the National University of Singapore's College of Alice & Peter Tan and Department of English Language & Literature.

What challenges did you face while working on it and what motivated you to keep going?

A major challenge has always been long-term sustainability, since the Core Team has had to balance the demands of our fulltime jobs, families and other responsibilities on top of Kodrah.

Are there any recent developments or updates to your project?

We're initiating our first ever level 4A and 4B classes in July 2018 at Cairnhill Community Club.

What are your fondest memories of NUS?

I really enjoyed my time at the College of Alice & Peter Tan (CAPT)!

What have you been up to since you graduated from NUS?

I've been training to become a teacher in the public school system at the National Institute of Education, and have also been working on my next novel.

Singapore experienced one of its worst Haze Crises on record in September 2015. As headlines continually quantified in numbers the smog in front of everyone’s eyes and the resulting frustration, Lim Hsyen was busy crowdfunding to buy masks for cleaners in NUS, sourcing for mask distributors, and activating his friends to help distribute the masks. His thoughtfulness for the less fortunate earned the attention of the University, which facilitated his efforts by helping to distribute the masks.

Hysen’s “NUS Mask for Cleaners Initiative” also received coverage in the local media, which helped to inspire similar initiatives such as the “Mask Outreach 1.0” that saw groups of FASS undergraduates distributing masks to the Bukit Merah Rental Flats. Hysen’s heart for the community was deeply inspirational for many, and the Faculty rewarded his efforts with a FSLA Individual Award in Academic Year 2015/2016.

Please enjoy our interview with him below!

Could you tell us about your work on Masks for NUS Cleaners and your motivations for initiating it?

I started the Masks for NUS Cleaners initiative in 2015 during an especially long period of haze. While walking around U-Town, I realised that the cleaners on campus were not wearing masks with adequate protection, or even at all. With the lessons and values I cultivated from my residence at CAPT, I talked to the cleaners to find out more about their situation. With the understanding that appropriate masks were not provided for them, I decided that I would use my social media pages to crowdfund and buy the masks for them. At the same time, I went around looking for suppliers who were willing to help me in this cause. Thankfully, I managed to raise enough funds from NUS alumni, current students, relatives and friends within 12 hours.

What was the impact of your project?

Through the initiative, 800 masks were distributed to the cleaners within a day. Most importantly, it inspired my friends to do something meaningful during the haze period.

What challenges did you face while working on it and what motivated you to keep going?

I was questioned by some friends who thought that I should be spending my time revising for the mid-terms instead. However, I realised that this was not what university education is about. There are so many causes and initiatives out there that we as university students can contribute towards, but we often get so engrossed with our academics that we forget about the true purpose of education.

Are there any other projects you have worked/are working on?

I also helmed the Inter-Faculty Games for FASS in 2014. My team initiated the sale of T-shirts to help fund our sportsmen and sportswomen.

What have you been up to since you graduated from NUS?

I’m currently doing research and marketing in one of the Ministries.

When Ms Francesca Phoebe Wah (Class of 2014) founded Bringing Love to Every Single Soul (BLESS) in 2014, her conviction was a simple one: every community is its own strongest resource. As such, to create sustainable changes in Singapore, the Non-Profit Organisation dedicates itself to community capacity building, or empowering communities to help themselves, which consequently enables members to co-create solutions to address problems; increases the sustainability of volunteerism; and establishes the social networks that underlie a caring society.

BLESS currently runs three programmes for the underprivileged, with each addressing a different social need. Francesca’s achievements best exemplify the Faculty’s commitment to cultivating all-rounded students, and she was awarded with a FASS Student Leadership Award in Academic Year 2014/2015. Find out more about Francesca’s motivations behind BLESS below, and apply for the FSLA now!

Could you tell us about your work on BLESS and your motivations for initiating it?

Bringing Love to Every Single Soul, BLESS, is a registered Non-Profit Organisation, incorporated on 21 June 2014. With an overarching framework of “A Community for Community”, BLESS recognises the bountiful potential of social capital and actively targets the community as a focal point of intervention. BLESS currently has three key programmes under our belt, with each one focusing on a different social need.

What was the impact of your project?

Could you tell us about Tingkat Heroes and your motivations for initiating it?

My project had a simple objective of reducing waste at NUS. I went for exchange in Germany in AY1617 Semester 2 and living like a local, bring my own grocery bag (as they charge for plastic bags), having the chance to take a module on Energy Law in the European Union (although I was an Economics student!) made me acutely aware of my consumption habits and appreciate how important it was to be live more responsibly and sustainably.

Coming back home, I was frustrated with the rampant use of disposables and plastic bags. I started bringing my own bottle and containers to takeaway food, but I was still unhappy with the status quo. One night, I reflected and decided I could turn my frustration into constructive proposals. I wrote to the NUS President, Prof Tan Eng Chye, on what could be done to reduce disposables use at NUS. I committed myself to a long term journey.

What was the impact of your project?

I organised NUS first Zero Waste Fest in January 2018 at The Deck and worked with the fruit juice uncle to implement a disposable charge on disposable cups. He also brought in reusable cups to support the initiative. Uncle shared candidly that he appreciated when people drink fruit juice from a glass cup and bringing that back was meaningful to him. He used to provide glass cups in the first 35 years of his operations but made the switch to plastic cup in part, due to fast culture. I worked with OES and OCA on the above initiatives, I am grateful for the support I received from he management. When we implemented the charge on disposables, patrons chose reusables more often, showing how effective a charge can be as opposed to a subsidy (similar to what I experience in Germany with plastic bags)

I also worked with OHS to remove the use of disposables in the halls & residences, they even provided residents their own set of reusables in the welcome package for AY1819.

I knew I wanted to change policies to achieve impact at scale, and am glad to have contributed.

What challenges did you face while working on it and what motivated you to keep going?

I did all these in my last semester of school, hence balancing my thesis, being a teaching assistant and all the ground work I had to do, running around getting approvals, convincing partners and decision makers to come onboard my initiative was not easy. What motivated me were the enlightened leaders I got to work with and knowing I was not alone in pushing for a more sustainable campus.

Are there any recent developments or updates to your project?

Since I graduated, I have also organised a Sustainability Camp for the public, a charity Christmas dinner with would-be food waste in partnership with MasterChef Zander Ng, TreeDots and DBS, facilitated for the environment version of Youth Convo (by MCCY and NYC), was on a panel discussion with Minister Masagos for an event by Eurasian Association and NUS first eco-fest in January 2019!

Are there any other projects you have worked/are working on?

Now I am curating new content and partnerships on my Instagram @tingkats.sg, where most of my initiatives are documented

I got a scholarship to attend Smith School Enterprise and the Environment Summer School (University of Oxford) in July 2019 and I am looking forward to it!

What are your fondest memories of NUS?

Leading the rugby team, staying in Temasek and Eusoff hall and Deck YTF!

What have you been up to since you graduated from NUS?

I am working at Sentosa Development Corporation now and will be embarking on my Masters in Environmental Management come August 2019 at NUS.

Could you tell us about your work as Economics President (any new initiatives you led) and your motivations for initiating it?

When I first took up the mantle for the 55th Management Committee of NUS Economics Society, I realised the society could be doing so much more for the students. I recruited a larger, more robust team (of nearly 30 people). Some of the projects I initiated was the Student Dialogue - where senior students can give advice to junior ones, and the Economics Japan Trip - where a group of economics students went to Japan and did an immersion.

What was the impact of your project?

I believe the impact of the 55th Committee remains today. When I look at the website of the Society, I still see similar teams, carrying out similar projects on a similar scale! I am proud that my committee laid the groundwork and I can only see greater heights reached for the future batches.

What challenges did you face while working on it and what motivated you to keep going?

One of the challenges I faced was managing morale. I was by far no where near a good leader. I remember sending one of my Assistant Vice Presidents a long and harsh text, which to be honest, I forgot the reason for. However, my peers in the committee are understanding and gave me a chance - I am proud to say that I am really good friends with that AVP today

Are there any other projects you have worked/are working on?

Since I stepped down from the society, I have in fact stepped up to serve at the national level. I currently serve as the Vice Chairman of the Economic Society of Singapore (ESS) Youth Wing, a position I have held to this day. It has always been a pleasure to help bright and driven Economics students all over Singapore reach their goals, and I am happy to be in a position that can make it happen.

What are your fondest memories of NUS?

My journey in NUS Economics Society started out in Economics Camp (Freshman orientation), and Econs Camp will always be in a special place in my heart. Being a freshman in 2016, and stepping up to be the Project Director in 2017. Whenever I look back at the photos of the camps I attended, nostalgia inevitably fills my soul. I made the best friends during camp and if I could turn back time - I would do it all over again.

What have you been up to since you stepped down as President?

I've been preparing myself to enter the workforce! Since stepping down, I have in the fixed income team at SGX, and am currently interning at the fixed income syndicate team at DBS.